Out of the Box » Rogerhttp://www.virginiamemory.com/blogs/out_of_the_box
Notes from the Archives at The Library of VirginiaWed, 07 Dec 2016 12:48:31 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=3.8.1Pearl Harbor: December 7, 1941http://www.virginiamemory.com/blogs/out_of_the_box/2016/12/07/pearl-harbor-december-7-1941/
http://www.virginiamemory.com/blogs/out_of_the_box/2016/12/07/pearl-harbor-december-7-1941/#commentsWed, 07 Dec 2016 12:48:31 +0000http://www.virginiamemory.com/blogs/out_of_the_box/?p=9442
“Yesterday, Dec. 7, 1941 – a date which will live in infamy – the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.” With those words, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan. Millions of Americans learned about the attack and heard the president’s speech on radio. For most people in central Virginia, they learned the news from listening to Richmond’s WRVA.

According to the Library’s Virginia Military Dead Database, at least 40 Virginians died on 7 December 1941. The primary purpose of the Virginia Military Dead Database is to honor those Virginians that have given their lives in defense of freedom. It pulls together information from a wide variety of sources and makes that information more accessible. For more information consult the Introduction to the Virginia Military Dead Database and the Source Guides.

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“Yesterday, Dec. 7, 1941 – a date which will live in infamy – the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.” With those words, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan. Millions of Americans learned about the attack and heard the president’s speech on radio. For most people in central Virginia, they learned the news from listening to Richmond’s WRVA.

According to the Library’s Virginia Military Dead Database, at least 40 Virginians died on 7 December 1941. The primary purpose of the Virginia Military Dead Database is to honor those Virginians that have given their lives in defense of freedom. It pulls together information from a wide variety of sources and makes that information more accessible. For more information consult the Introduction to the Virginia Military Dead Database and the Source Guides.

]]>http://www.virginiamemory.com/blogs/out_of_the_box/2016/12/07/pearl-harbor-december-7-1941/feed/0Library Makes New Batch of Emails from Governor Timothy M. Kaine Administration Available Onlinehttp://www.virginiamemory.com/blogs/out_of_the_box/2016/11/30/library-makes-new-batch-of-emails-from-governor-timothy-m-kaine-administration-available-online-2/
http://www.virginiamemory.com/blogs/out_of_the_box/2016/11/30/library-makes-new-batch-of-emails-from-governor-timothy-m-kaine-administration-available-online-2/#commentsWed, 30 Nov 2016 17:13:33 +0000http://www.virginiamemory.com/blogs/out_of_the_box/?p=9435
The Library of Virginia is pleased to announce the release of 10,441 emails from the administration of Governor Timothy M. Kaine (2006-2010). This latest batch comprises emails from individuals in the Office of the Senior Advisor to the Governor for Workforce. Included are the email boxes of Daniel LeBlanc, Gail Robinson, Brian Davis, Marietta Salyer, Beatrice Young, Sarah Abubaker, and Patrick Callahan. Since January 2014, the Library has made 156,188 emails from the Kaine administration freely available online to the public.

The primary responsibility of the Office of the Senior Advisor to the Governor for Workforce was the development and implementation of the Commonwealth’s first ever Strategic Plan for Workforce Development. The office also worked across secretariats to achieve consensus on a State Partner Memorandum of Understanding for Comprehensive One Stop Centers, a landmark directive for workforce service delivery in the Commonwealth signed in March 2008. This document clearly delineates the specific requirements of state agencies and programs towards the creation and support of a workforce development system that operates effectively in a one stop environment with a primary focus on serving citizens and employers in an efficient manner. For the complete picture, you will need to jump into the collection and start digging. The archived web site and Cabinet Weekly Reports of the Office of the Senior Advisor provide additional information on its activities.… read more »

The primary responsibility of the Office of the Senior Advisor to the Governor for Workforce was the development and implementation of the Commonwealth’s first ever Strategic Plan for Workforce Development. The office also worked across secretariats to achieve consensus on a State Partner Memorandum of Understanding for Comprehensive One Stop Centers, a landmark directive for workforce service delivery in the Commonwealth signed in March 2008. This document clearly delineates the specific requirements of state agencies and programs towards the creation and support of a workforce development system that operates effectively in a one stop environment with a primary focus on serving citizens and employers in an efficient manner. For the complete picture, you will need to jump into the collection and start digging. The archived web site and Cabinet Weekly Reports of the Office of the Senior Advisor provide additional information on its activities.

]]>http://www.virginiamemory.com/blogs/out_of_the_box/2016/11/30/library-makes-new-batch-of-emails-from-governor-timothy-m-kaine-administration-available-online-2/feed/0Mug Shot Monday: John Henry Green, No. 44916http://www.virginiamemory.com/blogs/out_of_the_box/2016/11/14/mug-shot-monday-john-henry-green-no-44916/
http://www.virginiamemory.com/blogs/out_of_the_box/2016/11/14/mug-shot-monday-john-henry-green-no-44916/#commentsMon, 14 Nov 2016 15:18:01 +0000http://www.virginiamemory.com/blogs/out_of_the_box/?p=9420
Welcome to Mug Shot Monday! This is the latest entry in a series of posts highlighting inmate photographs in the records of the Virginia Penitentiary. John Henry Green, known as the “Singing Ice Man,” murdered his wife and sister-in-law after a quarrel in 1941.

John Henry Green, age 17, married 16-year-old Thelma Pointer on 30 June 1938 in Richmond. Green worked for the Richmond Ice Company. He was well known for singing on local radio programs and while he worked delivering ice and coal. By 1941, the couple was estranged. On 9 February 1941, Thelma and Dorothy McClure, Green’s sister-in-law, went to Green’s home at 1205 West Leigh Street to beat him up. When Green opened the door, the two women attacked him. Green pulled out his .38 caliber pistol and shot each woman once in the head. Thelma died instantly; Dorothy the next morning. Witnesses stated that after the shooting, Green casually left his home and walked to the police station to turn himself in.

Green was found guilty of manslaughter on 1 April 1941 in the Circuit Court of Richmond and sentenced to two five-year consecutive terms in the Virginia Penitentiary. He was paroled on 18 June 1945.

Twelve years later history repeated itself. On the evening of 7 February 1953, Green got into an argument with John French and his sister, Katherine … read more »

John Henry Green, age 17, married 16-year-old Thelma Pointer on 30 June 1938 in Richmond. Green worked for the Richmond Ice Company. He was well known for singing on local radio programs and while he worked delivering ice and coal. By 1941, the couple was estranged. On 9 February 1941, Thelma and Dorothy McClure, Green’s sister-in-law, went to Green’s home at 1205 West Leigh Street to beat him up. When Green opened the door, the two women attacked him. Green pulled out his .38 caliber pistol and shot each woman once in the head. Thelma died instantly; Dorothy the next morning. Witnesses stated that after the shooting, Green casually left his home and walked to the police station to turn himself in.

Green was found guilty of manslaughter on 1 April 1941 in the Circuit Court of Richmond and sentenced to two five-year consecutive terms in the Virginia Penitentiary. He was paroled on 18 June 1945.

Twelve years later history repeated itself. On the evening of 7 February 1953, Green got into an argument with John French and his sister, Katherine French Clark. Shortly before midnight, he returned to the French’s Richmond home and shot both of them in the head with a .38 caliber pistol, killing them instantly. Green was never tried. After the shootings, Green was found mentally ill and committed to Central State Hospital. After his release in 1972, prosecutors dropped the murder charges because witnesses were no longer available.

The Library of Virginia is pleased to announce a new digital collection: Governor Tim Kaine’s YouTube Channel Videos, 2008-2010. Accessible as a playlist from the Library’s YouTube channel, this collection consists of 63 videos uploaded by the Kaine administration for events occurring between March 2008 and January 2010. The Kaine administration created a dedicated YouTube channel for the Office of the Governor in March 2008. Included are videos of news conferences, transportation town hall meetings, cabinet day events, the 2008 dedication of the Virginia Civil Rights Memorial, Governor Kaine’s statement on granting clemency to the Norfolk Four, and Governor Kaine’s 2009 State of the Commonwealth address.

The Kaine YouTube Channel Video collection is the latest release of records from Virginia’s 70th governor. Click here for a comprehensive list of records from the Kaine administration open to researchers.

The Library of Virginia is pleased to announce a new digital collection: Governor Tim Kaine’s YouTube Channel Videos, 2008-2010. Accessible as a playlist from the Library’s YouTube channel, this collection consists of 63 videos uploaded by the Kaine administration for events occurring between March 2008 and January 2010. The Kaine administration created a dedicated YouTube channel for the Office of the Governor in March 2008. Included are videos of news conferences, transportation town hall meetings, cabinet day events, the 2008 dedication of the Virginia Civil Rights Memorial, Governor Kaine’s statement on granting clemency to the Norfolk Four, and Governor Kaine’s 2009 State of the Commonwealth address.

The Kaine YouTube Channel Video collection is the latest release of records from Virginia’s 70th governor. Click here for a comprehensive list of records from the Kaine administration open to researchers.

-Roger Christman, LVA Senior State Records Archivist

]]>http://www.virginiamemory.com/blogs/out_of_the_box/2016/10/26/57-channels-and-nothin-on-governor-tim-kaines-youtube-channel-videos-released/feed/0No Retreat No Surrender? Not so Much: Yorktown Dayhttp://www.virginiamemory.com/blogs/out_of_the_box/2016/10/19/no-retreat-no-surrender-not-so-much-yorktown-day/
http://www.virginiamemory.com/blogs/out_of_the_box/2016/10/19/no-retreat-no-surrender-not-so-much-yorktown-day/#commentsWed, 19 Oct 2016 14:29:39 +0000http://www.virginiamemory.com/blogs/out_of_the_box/?p=9376Yorktown Day marks the anniversary of the 19 October 1781 surrender of British forces to General George Washington ending the Revolutionary War. To celebrate, the Library is highlighting two maps in our collection related to the decisive battle at Yorktown.

In 1956 the Library of Virginia purchased Sebastian Bauman’s A Plan of the Investment of York and Gloucester (1782) from Henry Stevens of Son & Stiles. At the Battle of Yorktown in 1781, Bauman commanded one of the allied batteries; he began drafting his map of the Yorktown battlefield shortly after British General Charles Cornwallis surrendered to General George Washington. His map was the first published in America to depict the American and French victory at the sleepy Virginia port town situated along the York River.

Engraved by Robert Scot of Philadelphia, the map was sold by subscription. Many viewers are immediately drawn to the elaborate scrollwork design along the map’s lower center, made up of flags, cannons, cannonballs, swords, drums, and trumpets. Within it is a description of the letters of the alphabet that identify specific locations on the battlefield. References to the British lines are printed in the upper left corner and the dedication and title are printed on rolled parchment on the map’s upper right corner.

Sebastian Bauman was trained in surveying and mapping as a soldier in the Austrian Army. … read more »

]]>Yorktown Day marks the anniversary of the 19 October 1781 surrender of British forces to General George Washington ending the Revolutionary War. To celebrate, the Library is highlighting two maps in our collection related to the decisive battle at Yorktown.

In 1956 the Library of Virginia purchased Sebastian Bauman’s A Plan of the Investment of York and Gloucester (1782) from Henry Stevens of Son & Stiles. At the Battle of Yorktown in 1781, Bauman commanded one of the allied batteries; he began drafting his map of the Yorktown battlefield shortly after British General Charles Cornwallis surrendered to General George Washington. His map was the first published in America to depict the American and French victory at the sleepy Virginia port town situated along the York River.

Engraved by Robert Scot of Philadelphia, the map was sold by subscription. Many viewers are immediately drawn to the elaborate scrollwork design along the map’s lower center, made up of flags, cannons, cannonballs, swords, drums, and trumpets. Within it is a description of the letters of the alphabet that identify specific locations on the battlefield. References to the British lines are printed in the upper left corner and the dedication and title are printed on rolled parchment on the map’s upper right corner.

Sebastian Bauman was trained in surveying and mapping as a soldier in the Austrian Army. He immigrated to the American colonies before the outbreak of the French and Indian War. In 1777 he was assigned to the 2nd Continental Regiment of Artillery, was promoted to major and served as artillery commander at West Point in 1779. He was sent to Yorktown in 1781.

In 1824-1826 former Revolutionary War general, the Marquis de Lafayette, visited the United States at the request of President James Monroe. He toured the United States and was warmly received by the American public. In commemoration of Lafayette’s visit the Plan of York Town in Virginiaand Adjacent Country, drawn by John Francis Renault and engraved by Harry S. Tanner, was published in Philadelphia. It is based on Bauman’s map of Yorktown. The border is decorated with flowers and an ornate design of flags, cannons, cannonballs, drums and weapons make up the map’s lower center. An explanation of letters of the alphabet is above this ornate design and below Renault’s battlefield drawing. The title is printed in a simply decorated cartouche on the map’s upper left side and references to the British lines are listed on the upper right hand side.

Mr. Joseph G. Fiveash gifted Plan of York Town in Virginia and Adjacent Country to the Library of Virginia in April 1905.

Gerson, Noel B. Statute in Search of a Pedestal: A Biography of the Marquis de Lafayette. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1976.

]]>http://www.virginiamemory.com/blogs/out_of_the_box/2016/10/19/no-retreat-no-surrender-not-so-much-yorktown-day/feed/0Man at the Top: The Kaine Administration Cabinet Week Reports Collectionhttp://www.virginiamemory.com/blogs/out_of_the_box/2016/09/12/man-at-the-top-the-kaine-administration-cabinet-week-reports-collection/
http://www.virginiamemory.com/blogs/out_of_the_box/2016/09/12/man-at-the-top-the-kaine-administration-cabinet-week-reports-collection/#commentsMon, 12 Sep 2016 12:37:27 +0000http://www.virginiamemory.com/blogs/out_of_the_box/?p=9329
The Library of Virginia is pleased to announce a new digital collection: the Kaine Administration Cabinet Weekly Reports Collection (2006-2009). Accessible through Digitool (and linked to from the “Related Content” section of the Kaine Email Project @ LVA page), this collection consists of weekly reports submitted to Governor Tim Kaine by the governor’s cabinet members, advisors, policy, press, and constituent services offices, and the Virginia Liaison Office. Reports were submitted each Thursday and placed in a binder for the governor that he took with him at the end of the day on Friday. While the level of detail varies, each report contains information on legislation, Governor’s initiatives and special projects, agency matters and operations, events and agency visits, audits or investigations, stakeholder issues, and pending decisions. This collection, which is full-text searchable, provides a weekly account of the issues and policy decisions of the Kaine Administration.

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The Library of Virginia is pleased to announce a new digital collection: the Kaine Administration Cabinet Weekly Reports Collection (2006-2009). Accessible through Digitool (and linked to from the “Related Content” section of the Kaine Email Project @ LVA page), this collection consists of weekly reports submitted to Governor Tim Kaine by the governor’s cabinet members, advisors, policy, press, and constituent services offices, and the Virginia Liaison Office. Reports were submitted each Thursday and placed in a binder for the governor that he took with him at the end of the day on Friday. While the level of detail varies, each report contains information on legislation, Governor’s initiatives and special projects, agency matters and operations, events and agency visits, audits or investigations, stakeholder issues, and pending decisions. This collection, which is full-text searchable, provides a weekly account of the issues and policy decisions of the Kaine Administration.

Governor Kaine often wrote comments on the reports and made requests for additional information. For example, one of Governor Kaine’s signature issues was conserving 400,000 acres of land by the end of his term in 2010.Kaine often asked for updates on this goal. The dedication of the 59th Natural Area Preserve (NAP) at Wintergreen, contained in the 30 July 2009 Secretary of Natural Resources report, prompted Kaine to ask “How many Natural Area Preserves have we added during my term?” The answer in the following week’s report (13 NAPs) triggered this note from Kaine to Bryant and Communications Director Lynda Tran:

“Take Note

6 New state forests

2 New state parks

13 New Natural Area Preserves and

Preserved all or parts of 23 Civil War Battlefields

all as part of our 400,000 acre goal”

Kaine also used the reports to acknowledge good work done by his administration. On the 11 June 2009 Virginia Liaison Office report, Kaine wrote: “You guys consistently do great reports!” A compliment from MSNBCs Chuck Todd about the Virginia State Board of Elections inspired Kaine to write: “Let’s do a thank you note to the board.” Kaine’s sense of humor occasionally shines through as well. Next to a report from the Department of Taxation about how the department used the 2009 Super Bowl (won by the Pittsburgh Steelers) to collect delinquent taxes from a Richmond business, Kaine wrote: “Nice Tax v. Stealers.” Another report listed items containing controlled substances confiscated at a Phish concert in Hampton: “brownies, goo balls, chocolates, gummy bears, fruity pebble treats, along with a variety of pills, powders, suspected LSD,” and marijuana. Kaine circled “fruity pebble treats” and wrote: “Oh no – Not fruity pebble treats!”

Governor Mark Warner (2002-2006) was the first governor to use weekly reports. All subsequent governors (Kaine and Bob McDonnell) have utilized them as well. Governor Warner’s reports have not been scanned but paper copies are available to researchers in the Library’s Archives Room which is open Monday through Saturday from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm. Governor Bob McDonnell’s weekly reports have not been processed and are closed to researchers.

-Roger Christman, LVA Senior State Records Archivist

]]>http://www.virginiamemory.com/blogs/out_of_the_box/2016/09/12/man-at-the-top-the-kaine-administration-cabinet-week-reports-collection/feed/0Never Built Winchesterhttp://www.virginiamemory.com/blogs/out_of_the_box/2016/08/10/never-built-winchester/
http://www.virginiamemory.com/blogs/out_of_the_box/2016/08/10/never-built-winchester/#commentsWed, 10 Aug 2016 12:00:04 +0000http://www.virginiamemory.com/blogs/out_of_the_box/?p=9294
The Library of Virginia’s collections include maps of developments that were never constructed, many of which were conceived prior to the Panic of 1893. In 1890, Pennsylvania Judge John Handley founded The Equity Improvement Company to purchase lands in suburban Winchester for the purpose of bringing in eleven enterprises. Map of Winchester Virginia Addition Made by the Equity Improvement Company was created in 1890 to complement the company’s pamphlet, Prospectus, which was published to attract business and capital to the city. Only one building had been completed and opened for business when the company folded in 1895; and that was the Hotel Winchester.

The map and Prospectus survive as testimony to the plans of Judge Handley and company share holders. As noted on the map, prospective manufacturing sites were set aside and identified by the color orange. An index to public and private buildings in Winchester is printed below the title. The Hotel Winchester was located on Penn Avenue and the Equity Improvement Company offices were located off of Market Street near Piccadilly.

Although he never resided in the city, Judge Handley took great interest in Winchester’s future. Upon his death in 1895, the city was gifted with funds to build Handley Library and a schoolhouse to educate the poor.

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The Library of Virginia’s collections include maps of developments that were never constructed, many of which were conceived prior to the Panic of 1893. In 1890, Pennsylvania Judge John Handley founded The Equity Improvement Company to purchase lands in suburban Winchester for the purpose of bringing in eleven enterprises. Map of Winchester Virginia Addition Made by the Equity Improvement Company was created in 1890 to complement the company’s pamphlet, Prospectus, which was published to attract business and capital to the city. Only one building had been completed and opened for business when the company folded in 1895; and that was the Hotel Winchester.

The map and Prospectus survive as testimony to the plans of Judge Handley and company share holders. As noted on the map, prospective manufacturing sites were set aside and identified by the color orange. An index to public and private buildings in Winchester is printed below the title. The Hotel Winchester was located on Penn Avenue and the Equity Improvement Company offices were located off of Market Street near Piccadilly.

Although he never resided in the city, Judge Handley took great interest in Winchester’s future. Upon his death in 1895, the city was gifted with funds to build Handley Library and a schoolhouse to educate the poor.

]]>http://www.virginiamemory.com/blogs/out_of_the_box/2016/08/10/never-built-winchester/feed/1All I’m Thinkin’ About….Tim Kaine Records at the Library of Virginiahttp://www.virginiamemory.com/blogs/out_of_the_box/2016/07/27/all-im-thinkin-about-tim-kaine-records-at-the-library-of-virginia/
http://www.virginiamemory.com/blogs/out_of_the_box/2016/07/27/all-im-thinkin-about-tim-kaine-records-at-the-library-of-virginia/#commentsWed, 27 Jul 2016 12:00:01 +0000http://www.virginiamemory.com/blogs/out_of_the_box/?p=9273
Long time readers of Out of the Boxare already familiar with the Kaine Email Project @ LVA. Hillary Clinton’s selection of Virginia Senator Tim Kaine as her running mate has brought national attention to our little project. Recent stories in Politico, Washington Post and the New York Times have all made use of the Kaine email collection. With this new interest in Kaine, we thought it would be a good time to spotlight the Library’s collection about Kaine and how to access them.

The Kaine Email Project provides online access to the email records from the administration of Governor Timothy M. Kaine, Virginia’s 70th governor (2006-2010). We are processing and releasing these records in batches. To date, we have released over 145,000 emails from 66 Kaine staff members. The “By the Numbers” document shows what we are currently working on. New releases will be announced on this blog and via the Library’s Twitter and Facebook pages. Before jumping in to the collection, we strongly suggest you read the collection finding aid and the tip sheets we created to help users search the collection.

The web archive of the Administration of Governor Tim Kaine (2006-2010) contains archived versions of Web sites for the Governor’s Office, … read more »

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Long time readers of Out of the Boxare already familiar with the Kaine Email Project @ LVA. Hillary Clinton’s selection of Virginia Senator Tim Kaine as her running mate has brought national attention to our little project. Recent stories in Politico, Washington Post and the New York Times have all made use of the Kaine email collection. With this new interest in Kaine, we thought it would be a good time to spotlight the Library’s collection about Kaine and how to access them.

The Kaine Email Project provides online access to the email records from the administration of Governor Timothy M. Kaine, Virginia’s 70th governor (2006-2010). We are processing and releasing these records in batches. To date, we have released over 145,000 emails from 66 Kaine staff members. The “By the Numbers” document shows what we are currently working on. New releases will be announced on this blog and via the Library’s Twitter and Facebook pages. Before jumping in to the collection, we strongly suggest you read the collection finding aid and the tip sheets we created to help users search the collection.

The web archive of the Administration of Governor Tim Kaine (2006-2010) contains archived versions of Web sites for the Governor’s Office, his initiative sites, and the sites of his cabinet secretaries. Also included are the related websites for the First Lady (Anne Holton), as well as the Lt. Governor (Bill Bolling), and Attorney General (Bob McDonnell and William C. Mims), two statewide officials elected in the same cycle as Governor Kaine.

Each Friday, Governor Kaine received weekly reports from his cabinet and other offices of his administration. The level of detail varied for each cabinet officer and items of importance were highlighted by staff for the Governor. Each report contains information on legislation, Governor’s initiatives/special projects, agency matters/operations, events/agency visits, audits/investigations/compliance, stakeholder issues and pending decisions. Governor Kaine wrote handwritten notes and/or marked-up some reports with post-it notes and requested follow up information from the person submitting the report. Those questions and answers are included in these records. The Cabinet Weekly Reports provide a weekly account of the issues and policy decisions of the Kaine Administration. These paper reports have been scanned and will be added to the Library’s digital collections soon.

Accessible as a playlist from the Library’s YouTube channel, this collection consists of 63 videos uploaded by the Kaine administration for events occurring between March 2008 and January 2010. The Kaine administration created a dedicated YouTube channel for the Office of the Governor in March 2008. Included are videos of news conferences, transportation town hall meetings, cabinet day events, the 2008 dedication of the Virginia Civil Rights Memorial, Governor Kaine’s statement on granting clemency to the Norfolk Four, and Governor Kaine’s 2009 State of the Commonwealth address.

All digital collections are open to anyone with an Internet connection.

Records of the Governor Timothy M. Kaine Administration – Paper

The rise of the paperless office has been greatly exaggerated. The Library received over 900 cubic feet of paper records from the Kaine administration. By law, gubernatorial records transferred to the Library “shall be made accessible to the public, once cataloging has been completed.” (Va. Code § 2.2-126) The following collections have been processed and are open to researchers:

Paper records are accessible in the Library’s Archives Room which is open Monday through Saturday from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm. All Archives Room users will need to have a valid Library of Virginia card. Please review the following guidelines before your visit:

]]>http://www.virginiamemory.com/blogs/out_of_the_box/2016/07/27/all-im-thinkin-about-tim-kaine-records-at-the-library-of-virginia/feed/2Library Makes New Batch of Emails from Governor Timothy M. Kaine Administration Available Onlinehttp://www.virginiamemory.com/blogs/out_of_the_box/2016/05/18/library-makes-new-batch-of-emails-from-governor-timothy-m-kaine-administration-available-online/
http://www.virginiamemory.com/blogs/out_of_the_box/2016/05/18/library-makes-new-batch-of-emails-from-governor-timothy-m-kaine-administration-available-online/#commentsWed, 18 May 2016 12:00:05 +0000http://www.virginiamemory.com/blogs/out_of_the_box/?p=9171
The Library of Virginia is pleased to announce the release of 6,745 emails from the administration of Governor Timothy M. Kaine (2006-2010). This latest batch comprises emails from individuals in Kaine’s Secretary of Public Safety office. Included are the email boxes of John Marshall, Clyde Cristman, Marilyn Harris, Dawn Smith and Erin Bryant. Since January 2014, the Library has made 145,605 emails from the Kaine administration freely available online to the public.

The Office of the Secretary of Public Safety focused on a variety of subjects including: tracking legislation; stimulus funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009; the 16 April 2007 shooting at Virginia Tech; the creation of a public safety memorial; minority procurement; the work of the Governor’s Office for Substance Abuse Prevention (GOSAP); and planning for Queen Elizabeth II’s 2007 visit to Virginia. For the complete picture, you will need to jump into the collection and start digging.

The Office of the Secretary of Public Safety focused on a variety of subjects including: tracking legislation; stimulus funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009; the 16 April 2007 shooting at Virginia Tech; the creation of a public safety memorial; minority procurement; the work of the Governor’s Office for Substance Abuse Prevention (GOSAP); and planning for Queen Elizabeth II’s 2007 visit to Virginia. For the complete picture, you will need to jump into the collection and start digging.

]]>http://www.virginiamemory.com/blogs/out_of_the_box/2016/05/18/library-makes-new-batch-of-emails-from-governor-timothy-m-kaine-administration-available-online/feed/0Willis M. Carter Journal and Research Collection Donated to the Library of Virginiahttp://www.virginiamemory.com/blogs/out_of_the_box/2016/05/11/willis-m-carter-journal-and-research-collection-donated-to-the-library-of-virginia/
http://www.virginiamemory.com/blogs/out_of_the_box/2016/05/11/willis-m-carter-journal-and-research-collection-donated-to-the-library-of-virginia/#commentsWed, 11 May 2016 13:54:30 +0000http://www.virginiamemory.com/blogs/out_of_the_box/?p=9165
Author and researcher Deborah Harding recently donated to the Library of Virginia a rare, firsthand account of slavery and its aftermath written by Willis M. Carter, a once influential but now little known 19th century civil rights pioneer. “A Sketch of My Life and Our Family Record” was acquired by African American historian Cuesta Benberry in the mid-seventies and entrusted to Harding to research and authenticate in 2005. It is the centerpiece of a larger collection of material on Carter compiled over ten years of research on his life and work. The Willis M. Carter Collection, ca. 1894-2016 (accession 51546), also includes the only surviving copy of Carter’s newspaper, the Staunton Tribune dated 1 September 1894 (donated by Jennifer Vickers of Staunton, VA); a handwritten memorial tribute written at Carter’s death by his fellow teachers in Staunton; 18 boxes of supporting research that include depositions from the family that once owned Carter and their views on the Civil War, as well as additional material on slavery, education, and early civil rights in Virginia; a cross referenced manuscript by Harding summarizing Carter’s life and work; and a companion finding aid. The journal, newspaper and memorial tribute have been digitized and are available to researchers online.

Willis McGlascoe Carter was born into slavery in 1852 in Albemarle County, Virginia. He achieved a formal education at … read more »

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Author and researcher Deborah Harding recently donated to the Library of Virginia a rare, firsthand account of slavery and its aftermath written by Willis M. Carter, a once influential but now little known 19th century civil rights pioneer. “A Sketch of My Life and Our Family Record” was acquired by African American historian Cuesta Benberry in the mid-seventies and entrusted to Harding to research and authenticate in 2005. It is the centerpiece of a larger collection of material on Carter compiled over ten years of research on his life and work. The Willis M. Carter Collection, ca. 1894-2016 (accession 51546), also includes the only surviving copy of Carter’s newspaper, the Staunton Tribune dated 1 September 1894 (donated by Jennifer Vickers of Staunton, VA); a handwritten memorial tribute written at Carter’s death by his fellow teachers in Staunton; 18 boxes of supporting research that include depositions from the family that once owned Carter and their views on the Civil War, as well as additional material on slavery, education, and early civil rights in Virginia; a cross referenced manuscript by Harding summarizing Carter’s life and work; and a companion finding aid. The journal, newspaper and memorial tribute have been digitized and are available to researchers online.

Willis McGlascoe Carter was born into slavery in 1852 in Albemarle County, Virginia. He achieved a formal education at the Wayland Seminary in Washington, D.C., going on to become a teacher, a newspaper editor, and a statesman and political activist respected for his work to promote African American political rights and educational opportunities. In an effort to preserve school funding and voting rights, Carter was the chairman of a selectgroup of ninemen elected to represent black Virginians at the 1901-1902 Constitutional Convention in Richmond.

Carter died on 23 March 1902, three and a half months before the new Virginia Constitution he had worked hard to prevent was officially adopted, effectively disenfranchising the African American vote as well as the votes of many less privileged whites. Whilethe 1899 Washington Bee described him as “one of the best known citizens of Virginia”Carter’s work and contributions were basically forgotten in the century following his death. An extensive statewide search to find more about Carter created a large body of supporting research, uncovering an amazing view of one of Virginia’s early proponents for equal rights for African Americans, and a first-person look into life under slavery and the challenges that so many African Americans in Virginia faced in the years that followed.

The motto “JUSTICE TO ALL.” written in all capitals under the masthead of Carter’s Staunton Tribune seems a fitting way to remember Carter’s life-long work toward achieving racial equality and educational advances for African Americans and the continued struggle to realize Carter’s vision of equal opportunity for everyone in Virginia.